Leaked tape: Australian PM mocks 'Russian guy' Trump

Jun 15, 2017, 8:00 AM EDT

(Source: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff/flickr)

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who reportedly had a troubled start with the U.S. President Donald Trump, made fun of the American leader, referring to him as “the Russian guy” and even alluding to his recurrent attacks on “fake news.”

Turnbull made the light-hearted comments at a press event in Parliament House's Mid Winter Ball in Canberra, which is normally not reported on, writes the BBC. Addressing the controversy sparked by the leaked audio, Malcolm clarified that “he, rather than Trump, was the butt of his joke.”

An infamous and “testy” phone call between the two leaders made headlines in January after Trump reportedly hanged up phone mid-conversation fretting over an Obama-era refugee deal, notes The Telegraph.